


Getting to Know You

by ChillyHollow



Category: Cormoran Strike Series - Robert Galbraith
Genre: Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-24
Updated: 2020-02-24
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:20:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22879354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChillyHollow/pseuds/ChillyHollow
Summary: Robin gets to know Lucy Fantoni’s eldest per Brian+Runyon's request
Relationships: Greg/Lucy (Cormoran Strike), Robin Ellacott/Cormoran Strike
Comments: 1
Kudos: 27





	Getting to Know You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [For Brian+Runyon](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=For+Brian%2BRunyon).



The birthday party for the youngest Fantoni boy was in full swing by the time Robin and Cormoran arrived.Lucy was distracted by all the children running full tilt through her backyard when Strike kissed her cheek but she did make time to smile at Robin. She liked Robin a lot.Although she deplored Strike’s profession and bachelorhood, she had hopes that one day he’d settle down with Robin now that they were a couple. 

Cormoran was fond of Jack, Lucy’s middle child, who wanted to be a soldier when he grew up.He didn’t know the other two, wasn’t even certain of their names or ages, but he was trying to be a better brother to their mother and Lucy wanted him at family celebrations.So here he was, but luckily Robin had agreed to accompany him.Things with his sister and her family were easier with Robin around.He looked around Lucy’s back yard, full of screaming and running kids, and saw Robin at a picnic table, talking to Lucy and a few of the moms who were Lucy’s friends.Jack ran up to him and asked where Robin was.She was a favorite of his now that she’d visited him when Jack was in the hospital and accompanied them both on a trip to the War Museum.

He pointed Jack towards Robin, then realized the oldest boy was standing silently next to him, watching the smaller children play.He nodded at the boy, who nodded back.Cormoran thought he was Greg, Jr., named after his father.Greg himself came up to them, and handed Cormoran a lager.Greg, Jr. wandered off into the house while his father went on and on about the weekend football scores while Cormoran pretended interest.Luckily once Greg Sr. started talking, all you had to do was nod and mutter “yes” or “no” occasionally and he would handle the rest of the conversation. Cormoran was able to escape when Lucy declared it was time for refreshments.All adults were needed to help keep order as the children were given cake, lemonade and ice cream. 

Robin brought him a slice of chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream since he was in charge of the lemonade table.They smiled at each other and settled down in folding chairs next to the drinks table to eat.Cormoran was content, eating his refreshments and looking at Robin, while the children and their parents swirled around them.Finally, Robin put down her plate with a sigh, and declared she’d eaten enough.She said she’d do a round up of dirty dishes, take them to the kitchen and start washing.Cormoran promised to join her once he finished his.Being alone with Robin inside without prying eyes meant he might be able to kiss her.It had been three days since he’d been able to spend the night with her and he was missing her.Working with her during the day didn’t help ease his longing to curl up with her in bed—it just fueled his need.So he quickly ate the last crumbs off his plate and made a circuit, piling as many dirty dishes as he could safely carry into his big hands, then heading into the kitchen.

He found Robin and Lucy’s eldest there.Robin was washing while the boy silently watched her.Cormoran was irked at his manners but he said nothing, just scraped the dishes for Robin and then after adding them to her pile to be washed, picked up a dish towel and started to dry.Robin looked at the boy and said, “Hi, I’m Robin.What’s your name?”

“Greg Ian Fantoni, Jr,” was his sullen answer, but Robbin didn’t seem to notice. 

“May I call you Ian?Otherwise there are too many Greg’s here.Besides your father there’s another boy at the party called Greg, isn’t there?”Greg’s eldest nodded, then added, “I’m a lot older than the kids at the party.”

“Yes, you must be twelve or thirteen at least.” 

Greg, now Ian, stood a little straighter.“I’ll be thirteen in two months.” 

Robin said nothing to that, just asked where to put the clean plates.Ian took them from the counter where Strike had been stacking them and started to carefully put them away in the cupboard.Robin thanked him and then asked, almost absently, if he was interested in the military like Jack was.She explained that she and Strike and Jack had visited the War Museum together.Ian shook his head.“No, I don’t want to be a soldier. “

“Do you have career plans, yet?” Robin asked, much to Strike’s fascination.Ian shook his head.“Dad wants me to be a quantity surveyor but I don’t want to,” he revealed.“I love football but I’m really not good enough at that to play,” he added sadly.

“What are you good at in school?” Robin continued her gentle interrogation while Strike listened and dried glasses, attempting to blend into the decor. 

“Maths,” said Ian. 

“Well, a good grasp of math is important for many professions.My ex-husband was an accountant.He had to be very good at math to qualify.” 

Ian blurted out, “You were married?I thought you worked for Uncle Cormoran.”

“We are partners,” Robin answered, unperturbed at this sexist statement.“I’m a detective, too.Your uncle and I work cases together and separately now that I have experience.Married ladies can work, you know.Your mom has a job, doesn’t she?”

“Yes,” Ian answered.“She works at the bank.”He appeared to mull this over.Strike kept quiet and dried the empty cake dish Robin handed him, then set it down on the kitchen table.“I want to be a detective, too.Like Uncle Cormoran.”Strike blinked in surprise.Robin nodded.“I thought you were pretty observant when we were outside.Detectives have to know what’s going on around them.”

“Dad won’t like me being a policeman, though.” Ian said sadly. 

Robin pondered the problem.“You are good at maths in school?”Ian nodded.“Do you know what a forensic accountant does?”

Ian looked puzzled.“No.”

“They are like regular accountants but better.They use math to trace illicit cash.The police have them, of course, and a lot of large insurance companies hire them.You see, Ian, if you are a crook and making money illegally, you have to figure out ways to hide the money so that it isn’t obvious that you have a lot of money because you stole it or are selling drugs.Forensic accountants track the traces of illegal activity by following the cash flow.You’ve heard of Al Capone?”Ian nodded.“That’s how the FBI caught him and sent him to jail.They used forensic accountants to prove that he had a lot of cash he hadn’t paid taxes on.They couldn’t catch him in the act of killing people so they went after him as the head of a criminal enterprise.”

Ian looked interested.Robin continued, “Even though you are a teenager and it’s a bit early for you to start carving out a career, studying math and accounting gives you a lot of options.You don’t have to go into forensic accounting but if you do, you can get a job at many places if your parents object to you working with the police.You can catch bad guys at an insurance company or bank as well if they are trying to pull a fast one.And of course sports teams love math specialists to give them an edge against the competition. That’s what sabermetrics is—using math to analyze plays and players.”

Strike finally spoke up.“Didn’t the Americans use forensic accounting to prove stock fraud at Enron?And sabermetrics to decide what baseball players to hire?”Robin nodded. 

“You should Google ‘fraud and forensic accounting’ plus ‘sports and sabermetrics,’ Ian.I’m sure you’ll find lots of interesting things to think about career-wise.”Robin handed Strike a glass bowl to dry.Ian gave her a sudden smile and ran out of the room.

Strike leaned over and kissed her.“You are a marvel.” 

She kissed back.“Nope, I just have brothers.” 

When Lucy called Cormoran the following week it was to complain that her eldest now wanted to be known as Ian.He wondered what would happen when she discovered that Ian wanted to either be a numbers guy for a football team or a forensic accountant.Cormoran smiled.Life was getting more interesting with Robin around.


End file.
